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Edwards makes pitch to NH voters

From NBC/NJ's Tricia MillerBOW, NH -- Edwards put his game face on -- as well as a suit -- for Day Two of a swing through New Hampshire. Instead of his usual jeans and button-down shirt, Edwards showed up today to his first town hall (after an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio) in a black suit and red striped tie.

It was the first day of his "America Belongs to Us" week, and Edwards delivered prepared remarks behind a podium, a move usually reserved for policy speeches. He reiterated that New Hampshire voters should look for a candidate they can trust to tell them the truth and to go after the corporate interests he says have corrupted the federal government. "I will not play by the Washington establishment rules because I believe that they've twisted the rules beyond recognition, and they've rigged the system on behalf of the few at the expense of the many," he said. "I will not compromise with powerful special interests."

Following his 12-minute speech, a woman with shaggy white hair asked Edwards to name a president who had wielded the kind of power he was talking about to rein in corporate interests within the constrains of the government. "Teddy Roosevelt did it -- he did it very clearly. And he did it, I might add, at a time when there was a huge concentration of wealth at the top," Edwards answered. "There are a lot of similarities where we are today and where we were then. And he stood up and fought and brought the American people behind him. They made real changes."